


Side Trip

by Suliana



Category: LinkedUniverse - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda linkeduniverse
Genre: Families of Choice, Family Feels, Found Family, Gift Fic, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, My Poor Boys, No beta we die like men in these here parts, also drafting is for weenies, bloody wounds, description of gore, downfall duo - Freeform, soz that's what happens when there are swords involved, yeeting stories at the internet since 1999
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26149036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suliana/pseuds/Suliana
Summary: Legend and Hyrule take a quick trip to see if they can wrangle up a few potions from a dungeon that should be abandoned.Hijinks ensue.Shocker, I know.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 57





	Side Trip

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StarryDewDrops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarryDewDrops/gifts).



> Based on the lovely picture from Starry on IG - as soon as I can, I'll actually link it, but MY BOYS.

Legend groaned as Hyrule rolled off him. _Why was this a good idea again?_

He was mentally berating himself and every namesake of his throughout every Thrice-damned generation of history as he struggled to push himself up to his knees, coughing bits of grit and dust out of his lungs as he did.

Hyrule was in much the same boat, on his hands and knees, one arm wrapped protectively around his side as he coughed roughly. His sandy brown hair was nearly white from the dust he was coated in, and Legend had the sneaking suspicion he looked much the same. 

Of course.

"You ok, 'Rule?" he coughed as he tried patting some of the dust off of himself. His red over-tunic was barely recognizable as being red... if he wasn't careful, it would turn _crunchy_ when it was time to wash it. 

A few more coughs, but 'Rule's eyes were steady as he pushed himself so he was sitting on his knees. "I will be," he fibbed softly, his arm still around his ribs. "You?"

A shrug as he pushed himself up into a mirrored pose. "I'll live," he rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck. He was going to be absolutely black and blue by the time they got out of this mess. 

The younger gave him a _look_. "You're bleeding, Leg," 'Rule said softly. He tugged his sleeve down over his hand and then reached out, like he was about to handle a skittish animal, and carefully dabbed at the blood trickling from his temple. "I can he-"

"No," he cut him off quickly, before hurriedly continuing. "No healing, kid. Just in case we're down here longer than we expect." 

He had almost forgotten just how _weird_ Hyrule was when it came to bleeding, but he didn't want to risk him exhausting himself over something minor. If anything, he _should_ press 'Rule into healing the ribs that were actually having issues... but he would refuse.

Damned kid needed a higher level of self-preservation.

Hyrule had only nodded and pushed himself back, landing so his back was to the wall. "I'm glad it's just us down here and not everyone else," he murmured, trying to pat dust off himself and failing miserably. 

Legend nodded absently as he stood, stretching himself out one limb at a time to ease out kinks. They were in Sky's Hyrule, on the surface the hero of the era knew little about. After an ambush, there had been discussion about heading through a cave-system that looked abandoned to find some fairies. No one was in desperate need, so that was a positive. 

Legend and 'Rule, for once, had made it through the ambush mostly unscathed, and had volunteered to go. It had made sense, at the time, especially since 'Rule had an uncanny ability to find them, and Legend was one of the best at keeping him on task and not wandering all over creation.

Until, of course, the floor gave way under their feet.

He was crafting a mental retort at Hylia, as he continued to pat himself down, stretching like the mailman did before he started his rounds. 

Hyrule was looking around in the cavern they had found themselves in, chewing his bottom lip. "This looks like a dungeon," he said softly as he pushed up off the ground and got his feet underneath him, his back against the wall until he found his footing. "Look at the patterns on the wall, it looks like an arrow."

Ladies above, they did. _Fucking_ Hylia. 

The ugly witch probably had this planned, just to piss him off.

He sighed. "They're not going to come looking for us for at least a few hours, and then they'd actually have to find us. We might as well see if we can get ourselves out of here."

* * *

It was certainly one of the _windiest_ dungeons he had been in, Hyrule considered as he trotted after Legend. The burning in his side had slowly faded as they moved, which was a plus at least. It either wasn't a major injury... or he was acclimating to the pain.

He rather hoped it was the former over the later. 

Legend was using his fire rod as a torch, his sword and shield slung over his back. He himself had a hand on his belt dagger, fully prepared to pull it and _throw_ as a distraction. He was hoping he wouldn't need to use it, but there had been some _sounds_ in the hallways that hadn't come from them.

He didn't like it at all.

"I wish I could read this era's writing," Legend murmured, holding his staff so it cast a red light over the carved scrawls. "Either it's completely different from our own, or whoever carved this was a drunken octorok."

He cracked a smile, appreciating the moment of humor, as he traced his fingers over some of the deeper carvings. "... I don't feel anything, magically," he kept his voice just as low. For some reason, they both felt strangely... reverent, in this place. 

It boded poorly, or else their name wasn't Link.

* * *

Running in terror was _not_ the time to pretend to have dignity.

Good thing dignity, along with sanity, was something he had lost a long time ago. 

Hyrule skidded on loose gravel as he spun around a corner, his breathing roaring in his ears. He stuck an arm out and snatched at Legend's tunic, using himself as a pivot point and dragging the other hero out of the line of sight of their pursuer. 

It would have to be a darknut.

Why _wouldn't_ it be a darknut?

And not one of the varieties from their own timeline... of course not. 

This was a darknut that was so enormous it could only be from Wild's.

Legend was gasping roughly for breath, bent over at the waist and leaning on his knees. His eyes were shut, and he was barely standing.

There was blood staining his tunic.

Hearing nothing coming, Hyrule stumbled, nearly landing on the ground, as he pulled Legend up, trying to see the damage. 

It had been his fault. He had rounded a corner, mumbling softly about not being able to feel any fairies nearby... and walked directly into the still darknut... who had not remained still for much longer past that. 

Legend had yanked him backwards by the back of his collar, and 'Rule hadn't processed much past the _swish_ and the grunt Legend let out as he tried to skip backwards. Leg had shoved him, yelling at him to _move_ , before 'Rule grabbed his wrist and began to pull him after. 

Ladies, he was _bleeding_.

His tunics were sliced cleanly through, and had offered little protection to the tip of the darknut's blade. Thankfully, his ribs seemed to be intact, but there was blood _everywhere_ , soaking into his tunics, oozing past 'Rule's trembling fingers. It wasn't _immediately_ fatal...

The heavy clanking of approaching armor had him flailing, his eyes huge. 

"Leg, we need to move!" he grabbed his wrist again and turned, only to turn back when met with resistance.

Legend had slid down the wall, his arm clenched over his ribs, as he blinked up at him slowly. "C-can't..."

Oh _Ladies_... He knelt down, trying, and failing, to get him to his feet. "It's getting closer, Leg. We need to _go_!"

He only smiled, his head lolling against his shoulder. 

The clanking was getting closer.

 _Ok, Link,_ he thought desperately, digging through his pouch and coming up with only an empty potion bottle, meant to store a fairy. _Gotta do something, it's almost here._

He had nothing on him, save his sword to take out this darknut. 

He wasn't going to be able to get past it, not in a hallway this narrow, to try attacking it from behind.

A strange sense came over him.

It wasn't calmness, nor confidence.

It was a cool awareness that he had exactly one chance to save himself and the person closest to family he had ever had.

It was close now.

He stood, cracking his knuckles.

Already, the atmosphere around them seemed heavier, darker... more _electrified_. 

He had never cast a lightening spell in such a confined area. 

Eldritch lightening flickered between his fingers, swirled around his hand and up his wrist. It cast eerie shadows along the walls, over Legend. 

"'Rule?" the voice was weak, raspy. 

He couldn't turn around now. Not when the darknut was rounding the corner, it's giant, rusty blade, stained with blood ~~Oh Ladies, that was Legend's blood~~ , was so very, very close.

The monster was even more terrifying than he had imagined. It _filled_ the entire hallway, its broad shoulders leaving gouges in the stone walls well over his head. It's helmet was covered in the cobwebs it had scraped away, it's immense weight leaving indents in the stone floor as it trudged forward.

And it had the sword prepared to drop directly onto them.

But still, he was calm. If he panicked, it wasn't just himself that would be having a face-to-face meeting with the Golden Goddesses. 

His magic was _alive,_ his skin turning red beneath the writhing mass, demanding to be released.

Who was he to deny it?

The sane part of his mind that was _screaming_ at this insanity registered that Legend was still behind him, calling him. "Traveler?" his voice was wet, so raspy.

But the sane part of his mind had to be set aside. _Nothing_ about their quest was sane, anyway.

"You," he murmured, stepping forward, making himself the target. "You don't get to hurt my family and get away with it."

He was strangely calm as the sword swung. 

He was strangely calm as his hands came up, as if of their own accord, and thunder itself filled the hallway with an echoing _boom_.

He was strangely calm as everything, _everything_ ahead of him became a target and became _engulfed_ in raw electricity. 

He was strangely calm as he realized just _why_ it was a bad idea to use an area of effect casting in a confined, enclosed area.

The last thing he heard was Legend cursing, but that might have been the shock of his eardrums rupturing, or the shock of his eyes burning as he absently realized that he should have closed his eyes as he fell.

* * *

Legend couldn't help swatting at Warriors as he tried to help him drink the red potion while trying to bandage his side. "Where's 'Rule?" he rasped. The last thing he remembered was a blinding blast of light, and nothing until the concerned faces of Wind and Warriors appeared, having shaken him awake.

"Drink," Wind ordered, his voice tight as he held the roll of bandages War was trying to wrap around Legend's slender frame. 

He obeyed as the bottle was shoved against his teeth, choking down the sickeningly sweet, thick liquid. The relief was almost immediately, tension he didn't realize was even there fading as he slumped against Wars. 

But he wasn't unaware that his question hadn't been answered. "Where's. Hyrule?"

Wind and Warriors shared a look. "Sky and the others are working on him now," Warriors answered as Wind looked away. "He took out the biggest darknut any of us have ever seen."

There was more they weren't telling him, so he took matters into his own hands and forced himself up. They protested, of course, but he stumbled on numb legs to where the others were clustered.

'Rule was limp across Time's lap, a damp rag over his forehead. His skin looked like it was badly sunburnt; his hands, folded over his chest, looked blistered, with the faint, feathery traces of lightening's passage over their tops. 

But no one was panicking. 

They'd had enough catastrophic injuries in this shitshow to know when someone was in crisis, and no one was acting like it.

He slumped next to Time, barely registering Twilight helping him sit, or Sky draping his sailcloth over him. He ignored Wild and Four puttering around, setting up camp. He ignored Twi gathering their dropped gear, he ignored _everything_ except the steady rise of Hyrule's chest.

Time didn't say a word as tugged him closer, an arm over his shoulder. Legend would never admit it, but the quiet, confident warmth he offered was... comforting. "He'll be fine," he was told softly, a careful squeeze of his shoulders punctuating the words. "Some scarring, and he'll have to be careful of the burns for a while, but all in all, _fine_."

He would never admit that he let his head rest on Time's shoulder, relief leaving him feeling shaky. Time would never tell that he fell asleep like that, and that he ended up tucking both of the younger heroes together in his own bedroll

* * *

"You. Are. An. Idiot."

Hyrule blinked again, trying to figure out why he was in a nice, warm bedroll, with Legend staring at him, a clearly displeased look on his face. Per his norm, he had gone from asleep to wanting to _move_ with no half-awake interlude. 

His confusion must have been clear. 

"You're an _idiot_ ," Legend hissed again, trying to keep his voice down, trying to not wake any one up. "Can you _not_ do that again?"

He wasn't even entirely sure just _what_ he had done, but he nodded absently before flinching. His skin felt _tight_ , and he wondered absently why there were bandages on his hands. 

The look on Legend's face changed at his pained expression, changing into something... soft. He was propped up on his elbow, his fingers tangled in his hair. "... how are you feeling?"

How _was_ he feeling? "... stiff?" he answered, honestly. "Don't really hurt or anything." He didn't entirely remember what happened, but the look on Legend's face said that it wasn't the time to ask. 

"If you start to hurt, _say_ something," he was told stiffly. "None of your martyr shit."

He tried to give an innocent look, but it pulled his skin too much. 

Legend tugged up one of the blankets, making sure they were both completely covered. It wasn't cold in the cavern they were still, but he appreciated the impression of safety it offered. He fiddled with the hem for long moments, chewing his lip. 

"What did you mean?" 

'Rule had been slipping back to the warm fuzziness of sleep and shifted at the question, blinking slowly. "Wha'?"

Legend shifted back to his side, so he was fully facing him. "You told the darknut that it didn't get to hurt your family."

If his face hadn't already been burnt, his flush would have been noticeable. Instead, his ears dropped, and he physically seemed to get smaller. "... sorry..." Maybe Legend would believe it was a heat-of-the-moment thing? He remembered saying it, and didn't regret it. 

It was true, after all.

He just wished he had said it softer, quieter.

He missed the fondly exasperated look that flitted over Legend's face. "... I've never gotten to be an older brother," he murmured, voice barely audible. "Now, go to sleep, kid."

The look of wonder on 'Rule's face warmed the cockles of his black heart as he shifted the smaller around and wrapped himself around him. "Don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to keep. Warriors will think I'm going soft in my old age."

**Author's Note:**

> mhmmhm. 
> 
> I needed this nice little diversion from hellweek.


End file.
